The Sean McVay Influence is as Strong As Ever for Jaguars' Liam Coen

Last offseason, when the Jacksonville Jaguars were looking for their next head coach, they had a clear name in mind, and they were not going to take no for an answer. That name was Liam Coen.

The Jaguars made it clear that they wanted to bring in a top offensive mind to be their next head coach, and that was Coen. The Jaguars wanted him from the start, and they went all in when he became available for teams to speak to him. The Jaguars were the ones who did not stop.

Mar 31, 2026; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Liam Coen during the 2026 NFL Annual League Meeting at the Arizona Biltmore. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

At first, Coen thought he was going back with his old team, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but the Jaguars were not having any of that. The Jaguars got him in the building for the second time, and that time, they were not going to let him walk out of it without Coen being the next Jaguars head coach.

A year later, both sides could say that it was the right call. For the Jaguars, they got their head coach they wanted, and for Coen, he took the job and went all in.

Liam Coen learning from Sean McVay

Nov 20, 2022; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; Los Angeles Rams offensive coordinator Liam Coen in the second quarter against the New Orleans Saints at the Caesars Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Chuck Cook-Imagn Images | Chuck Cook-Imagn Images

In the NFL, for coaches who are looking to become head coaches, you do not know if the situation will present itself once again. Coen went with his gut, and the Jaguars were one of the best and most improved teams in the NFL under Coen last season. Going into year two, Coen wants to be better than he was last year. He knows that if he does that, he is going to make the team better and give the Jaguars a better shot at making a deep run in the playoffs next season.

Coen recently shared one top head coach that helped him become a head coach himself. The head coach of the Los Angeles Rams is Sean McVay. McVay is regarded as one of the top head coaches in the NFL and the top offensive play caller in the league. Coen was part of McVay's coaching staff for some time in Los Angeles. We all know how the McVay coaching tree has been doing over the last few years.

Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Liam Coen speaks during a press conference at the Miller Electric Center, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Jacksonville, Fla. | Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

"It's the details in the preparation. It's the defensive identification. It's the learning of defenses, basically, in a lot of ways," said Jaguars head coach Liam Coen. "What offense affects how they play? Their gap integrity, their fits and fallbacks, their gap-and-a-half integrity, their coverage structures. How we form, we motion, we shift, we adjust, how does it attack them? Sean [McVay] can connect, and I think that that's something that
you always appreciate about learning from him.”